AMADEUS has agreed to sell its pan-European online travel agency Opodo to private equity firms AXA and Permira for approximately 500 million euros (US$684 million), subject to approval by competition authorities.

Following the sale, AXA and Permira plan to merge Opodo with their two online travel firms, Go Voyages and eDream.

London-based Opodo was founded in 2001 by a consortium of European airlines including British Airways, Air France, Alitalia, Iberia, KLM, Lufthansa, Aer Lingus, Austrian Airlines and Finnair.

KOH Samui’s four-year hotel building boom is threatening to undermine the destination’s long-term success, as supply outstrips a demand hamstrung by severely limited airlift, according to a report released today by hospitality consulting firm C9 Hotelworks.

Samui Hotel Market Update 2010 reveals that oversupply and limited access heavily impacted last year’s operating performance for hotels on the island, with marked declines in occupancy (seven per cent), average room rates (15 per cent) and RevPAR (26 per cent) compared to 2009.

C9 Hotelworks managing director Bill Barnett explained: “Private sector development in the hospitality sector has surged well ahead of transportation infrastructure improvements, which has caused the market to go into a tailspin.”

Located in an international flight corridor requiring low landing levels, coupled with environmental restrictions allowing only 36 flights a day and a runway length unable to handle larger aircraft, the long-term potential of the destination is effectively capped, especially with no airport expansion or relocation plans in the pipeline.

Comparing the destination to the more developed markets of Phuket and Bali, Barnett added that what was clearly missing in Koh Samui were high-demand generators such as regional low-cost carriers and charter flights.

THE INDONESIA Ministry of Culture and Tourism will sue the organiser of the New7Wonders (N7W) of Nature campaign for dropping the office as its official supporting committee over the Komodo National Park furore (TTG Asia e-Daily, February 8).

The ministry’s lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis told the media yesterday: “Their decision to drop the ministry as the official supporting committee is an attempt to discredit Indonesia’s government and has no legal basis.”

In the meantime, Indonesia tourism stakeholders are calling on the government and private sector to forge ahead with plans for developing and promoting Komodo National Park.

“We must use the momentum to continue improving infrastructure in Komodo,” said Indonesia Care Tourism member Wuryastuti Sunario. “Indonesia should also start selling Komodo together with Flores as an ecotourism destination.”

Incito Tours managing director Sebastian Ng said the N7W campaign was a good means of garnering media coverage for the destination. “We must continue promoting Komodo by highlighting it as a UNESCO World Heritage Site,” he said.

MYANMAR operators report a busier January compared to the same period last year, although the prospects for March onwards are less certain, with differing forecasts from industry players.

Hla Aye, managing director of Shan Yoma Travel and Tours, said January had been a hectic month. “We’ve already received bookings for February and March,” he said.

All Asia Exclusive Travel managing director Phyoe Wai Yar Zar said the company had registered a slight growth in business in January and February, but bookings started to wane in March.

Hotel Yangon sales and marketing director Thet Ko Ko Htaik said the property ran at about 85 per cent occupancy in January, a 20 per cent year-on-year increase, while forward bookings for February and March indicated a full-house situation on most days.

Chatrium Hotel sales and marketing director May Myat Mon said although the hotel’s occupancy in February was better than in January, forward bookings were pointing to a quieter March.

BAAN Taling Ngam Resort and Spa in Koh Samui, Thailand will be closed for renovations from March 1 and reopen as a five-star InterContinental resort on October 1.

Resort sales and market director Tasa Soonthornsima told TTG Asia e-Daily that parent company Elite Villa would spend 800 million baht (US$26 million) on overhauling the 73-key property.

Elite Villa managing director Vikorn Srivikorn, also the owner of InterContinental Bangkok and Holiday Inn Bangkok, took over the resort from the defunct Lehman Brothers (Thailand) last May.

The 17-year-old resort used to run under the Mandarin Oriental and Le Meridien brands, and was previously a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World.

By Sirima Eamtako

IN a testament to the strong rebound of the travel industry in 2010, Abacus International saw booking transactions hit a record high last year, growing by 11 per cent compared to 2009, when it saw a one per cent slide in bookings.

Transaction increases were led by North Asia (14 per cent), followed by South-west Asia (10 per cent) and South-east Asia (eight per cent).

“I foresee that 2011 will continue to be a high growth year for Asia, albeit at a slightly slower pace,” said president and CEO, Robert Bailey, adding that Abacus expects to see a four to six per cent jump in bookings this year.

Besides obvious leaders of growth, China and India, Bailey singled out Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia as markets to watch.

Indonesian agents, he said, were benefiting from a stable economy and political scene as well as a recent removal of exit tax, while Vietnam and Cambodia’s emerging economies were driving travel demand.

Abacus also reported an eye-popping 126 per cent increase in hotel bookings in 2010, while noting that hotel average daily rates were up by four per cent, with properties in Taiwan, Hong Kong and China at the top of the table.

The GDS predicted that the major drivers of travel distribution for 2011 would be online travel agents, airline ancillaries, mobile travel bookings, social media and personalised trip planning.

– Read more in TTG Asia, February 25

THE ASSOCIATION of the Indonesian Tours and Travel Agencies (ASITA) Jakarta Chapter has offered to assist suspended Mandala Airlines by giving testimony and recommendations to potential investors.

“Airline traffic continues to grow, especially domestically, and Mandala is an old player with many years of experience,” said ASITA board member Asrul Aziz Taba. “It is in our best interest that they are back in the air so we can do business again.”

In return, ASITA has requested priority for its members to claim deposits and ticket refunds if the carrier, which halted operations on January 13, is eventually declared bankrupt.

Mandala’s fate will be determined on February 18, when the company will find out if the majority of its creditors agree to a proposed restructuring programme, said the carrier’s retail sales manager Made Lesmana. “If so, we will be able to take further steps to resume operations, otherwise the company will be declared bankrupt.”

Swatrav Tours and Travel director Muhammad Arsyad said the fact that Mandala neglected to inform agents it was stopping operations, and still accepted payments on the day it suspended business had damaged its reputation.

“Don’t dream Mandala will regain the confidence of customers without its agents,” he warned.

THAILAND’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports (MoTS) plans to extend or reintroduce some tourism stimulus policies launched over the last two years.

Permanent secretary Sombat Kuruphan said the ministry was currently debating which of the seven policies originally launched to counter the multiple tourism crises in the country were worth renewing.

Policies still active include the exemption of tourist visa fees for some nationalities, including Indians and Chinese, which will cease on March 31.

Policies that have already concluded include the soft loan scheme for tourism-related operators, travel insurance coverage for foreign visitors in case of riots and the waiver of hotel operating fees at 80 baht per room per year.

Meanwhile, Sombat said the ministry would press ahead with construction of the new government-funded convention and exhibition centre in Chiang Mai, scheduled for completion by end of this year.

NORWEGIAN Cruise Line (NCL) has started a dedicated contact centre in Manila to cater to its growing Asia-Pacific business.

In view of Asia-Pacific sales doubling year-on-year in 2010, and in anticipation of a significant increase in bookings this year, NCL decided to launch the operation to provide real-time assistance to travel partners based in the region.

“This is just another step in building our Asia-Pacific business,” said Francis Riley, NCL director of sales for Asia-Pacific. “It’s important that as we continue to develop and grow these core markets, that we are able to provide a quick and efficient process for agents to deal with us locally.”

The centre will have a team of 15 reservation consultants, more than double the size of its original Asia-Pacific support team based in its Miami head office.

CAMBODIAN operators report a strong rebound in bookings in January after a difficult period last year, with the upward trend set to continue into the February-March low season.

FCC Cambodia, which operates a total of 60 rooms at an average daily rate of US$115, recorded occupancy of above 80 per cent in January at its three boutique hotels—two in Phnom Penh and one in Siem Reap.

This was an increase of about 10 per cent over last year, said FCC operations director Benoit Jancloes.

Based on advanced bookings, Jancloes also projected a similar performance for February and March.

Sofitel Phnom Penh Phokeethra general manager Didier Lamoot said bookings continued to “look good” at the two Sofitel hotels in Cambodia heading into the off-peak period.

Agents are similarly looking at higher numbers, with Mekong Heritage Travel general manager Som Sun Sovann reporting a 20 per cent increase in Cambodian tour bookings last month.

“We expect the same in February and March—about 25 per cent more than last year,” she said.

By Steve Finch